Too many civil servants ‘asleep on the job’

Public Service and Administration Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has said that some civil servants find it acceptable to catch forty winks at work or to assault others.

She was replying to a question in Parliament by ANC MP Malesane Themba about how many civil servants had been dismissed or fired because of misconduct, Afrikaans daily Beeld reported today.

According to Sisulu, nearly 3 000 civil servants were dismissed in the past three years, and 149 were fired, the newspaper reported.

She said 2 922 were dismissed because they either disregarded rules, regulations or legal obligations, deliberately squandered state funds, or were found guilty of theft, bribery or corruption.

Others were charged with absenteeism, or moonlighting without official permission.

Charges of sexual harassment, discrimination, being asleep on the job, intimidation of colleagues, contravening the civil service’s code of conduct, and assaulting colleagues or threatening them with assault were also dealt with.

According to Beeld, Sisulu said a total of 379 incidents of misconduct were perpetrated by officials in senior management positions.

In answer to another question, Sisulu said the development and improvement of civil servants’ competence was a priority for the department.

Brown Dash, Tebogo “Zombo” Ndlovu, Brenda Fassie and Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde had more in common than just their incredible musical talents: despite their fame and the potential fortune that came with it, they died broke.